Scottish Executive

Environment

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions in the last year fuel was jettisoned by aircraft over Scotland and whether there is a protocol for investigating the outcome of any such spillages.

Nicol Stephen: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has recorded one incident of an aircraft jettisoning fuel over Scotland in the last year. It is an offence under the Air Navigation Order to jettison fuel other than in an emergency. The CAA will investigate possible offences which are reported to them.

  Aviation safety regulation is a matter reserved to the UK Government.

Health

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will participate in a scheme to distribute the proposed European health insurance card to replace the E-111 form and whether it will seek reimbursement of the cost of such a scheme from Her Majesty’s Government.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive will be participating in this scheme, which will replace a number of forms relating to access to health care within the European Economic Area including the E-111. It has already been agreed that HM Government will meet the costs of the introduction of the health card. A UK-wide consultation on proposals for the introduction of the card, led by the Department of Health on behalf of all the UK Health Departments, is currently in process. Details are available at http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/08/74/22/04087422.pdf , or through the Scottish Executive website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Consultations/ .

Health

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce a tracking system to enable NHS boards throughout Scotland to produce financial figures relating to referrals and treatment carried out by individual hospitals at the request of neighbouring boards.

Malcolm Chisholm: An information system is already in place that captures activity data for Out of Area Treatments and referrals for each health board. Health boards also record the financial value of these transfers in their annual accounts.

Health

Susan Deacon (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to be able to implement the recommendations of the recent NHS Quality Improvement Scotland report, Routine ultrasound scanning before 24 weeks of pregnancy , which would provide for all pregnant women to be offered routine ultrasound scanning at 20 weeks.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive awaits advice from the UK National Screening Committee on anomaly scanning during pregnancy which is expected later this year.

  In anticipation of the advice we may receive from the National Screening Committee the Scottish Executive have been liaising with NHS National Services Scotland to begin to define the resource implications, both financial and personnel, and possible timescales for delivery.

Health

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the rubella incidence was per 100,000 head of population in each year since 1999, calculated on the same basis as the World Health Organization’s European health for all database.

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the number of new rubella cases was in each year since 1999, calculated on the same basis as the World Health Organization’s European health for all database.

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the mumps incidence was per 100,000 head of population in each year since 1999, calculated on the same basis as the World Health Organization’s European health for all database.

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the number of new mumps cases was in each year since 1999, calculated on the same basis as the World Health Organization’s European health for all database.

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the clinically diagnosed AIDS incidence was per 100,000 head of population in each year since 1999, calculated on the same basis as the World Health Organization’s European health for all database.

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the number of new diagnosed AIDS cases was in each year since 1999, calculated on the same basis as the World Health Organization’s European health for all database.

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the number of reported new HIV infections was in each year since 1999, calculated on the same basis as the World Health Organization’s European health for all database.

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many new HIV infections were reported per 100,000 head of population in each year since 1999, calculated on the same basis as the World Health Organization’s European health for all database.

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the number of new haemophilius influenza type B invasive disease cases was in each year since 1999, calculated on the same basis as the World Health Organization’s European health for all database.

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cancer incidence was per 100,000 head of population in each year since 1999, calculated on the same basis as the World Health Organization’s European health for all database.

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the number of new cases of cancer was in each year since 1999, calculated on the same basis as the World Health Organization’s European health for all database.

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the trachea, bronchus and lung cancer incidence was per 100,000 head of population in each year since 1999, calculated on the same basis as the World Health Organization’s European health for all database.

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the number of new cases of trachea, bronchus and lung cancer incidence was in each year since 1999, calculated on the same basis as the World Health Organization’s European health for all database.

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the female breast cancer incidence was per 100,000 head of population in each year since 1999, calculated on the same basis as the World Health Organization’s European health for all database.

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the number of new cases of female breast cancer was in each year since 1999, calculated on the same basis as the World Health Organization’s European health for all database.

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cervix uteri cancer incidence was per 100,000 head of population in each year since 1999, calculated on the same basis as the World Health Organization’s European health for all database.

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the number of new cases of cervix uteri cancer was in each year since 1999, calculated on the same basis as the World Health Organization’s European health for all database.

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the United Nations Development Programme Human Development Index figures for Scotland were for each year since 1999, calculated on the same basis as the World Health Organization’s European health for all database.

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the reduction of life expectancy through death before 65 years was in each year since 1999, calculated on the same basis as the World Health Organization’s European health for all database.

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the probability of dying before age five was per 1,000 live births in each year since 1999, calculated on the same basis as the World Health Organization’s European health for all database.

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) estimated and (b) disability-adjusted life expectancy was in each year since 1999, calculated on the same basis as the World Health Organization’s European health for all database.

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the question S2W-10305 answered on 22 September 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa .

Health

Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current policy of NHS Scotland is in respect of the use of acupuncture as a treatment and whether NHS Scotland has any plans to review this policy.

Malcolm Chisholm: It is open to NHS boards to provide acupuncture and other complementary medicine through the NHS in Scotland. Decisions on whether to provide any particular form of complementary medicine are for NHS boards to make, based on their assessment of local needs. There are no plans to review this policy.

  NHS boards will be helped in their decisions on funding complementary medicine by reliable standards of regulation for complementary practitioners. The Executive, with the UK Government and the other devolved administrations, took part in a UK-wide consultation on the statutory regulation of people who practice acupuncture and herbal medicine. Responses are currently being assessed.

Health

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many incorrect diagnoses have been made by front-line staff in NHS 24 using the algorithm process.

Malcolm Chisholm: NHS 24 Nurse Advisors use symptom-based clinical algorithms to support their decision-making. These are evidenced-based and subject to continuing development and review by clinicians across Scotland.

  The algorithms support NHS 24’s Nurse Advisors in deciding, on the basis of the caller’s symptoms, which level of care is clinically appropriate and which healthcare professional should be contacted. There have been no significant adverse events relating specifically to algorithm usage.

  Hepatitis

Health

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to introduce managed clinical networks for hepatitis C sufferers.

Malcolm Chisholm: An application from the Scottish Viral Hepatitis Group for assistance with the administrative costs of developing a Scotland-wide Managed Clinical Network in Hepatitis C care will be considered by National Services Advisory Group at its next meeting.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the socio-economic breakdown was of persons who had assets seized following conviction for drug offences in each of the last five years.

Colin Boyd QC: Neither the Scottish Executive nor the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal hold information on the socio-economic status of those against whom confiscation orders are made following conviction for drug offences.

  However, when considering or pursuing confiscation proceedings against an individual, the Crown makes full investigation into the financial position of that person. Confiscation proceedings can only be pursued by the Crown when a person has been convicted of a relevant offence and when that person holds assets.

Medical Research

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria are used for the allocation of funding to motor neurone research projects.

Malcolm Chisholm: Research proposals received by the Chief Scientist Office (CSO) of the Scottish Executive Health Department on motor neurone disease and on any other health issue are assessed on the basis of their scientific quality and potential relevance to the health of the people in Scotland. Projects must be able to demonstrate "health gain" and potential to improve health care. Such assessments are made by expert peer and committee review and, following this, decisions on funding are made. Potential applicants are encouraged to discuss their research proposals with the CSO at an early stage, so that they can develop these in a way that most directly addresses Scotland’s public health and health services research needs.

Medical Research

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how interested parties can contribute to motor neurone research projects.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) of the Scottish Executive Health Department is largely a response mode funder of research. It supports projects of a sufficiently high standard initiated by the research community in Scotland. The best way therefore for interested parties to contribute to motor neurone disease (MND) research projects is through contact with NHS and academic researchers specialising in this field. Names and contact details of some of these researchers can be found from the MND research projects listed on the National Research Register (NRR). The NRR is a database of ongoing and recently completed publicly funded research projects, a copy of which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 17404).

  Interested parties may also wish to seek further advice from the Motor Neurone Disease Association. Further information can be found at www.mndassociation.org/.

NHS Staff

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many junior doctors are currently working more hours than is permitted by the European Working Time Directive, broken down by NHS board.

Malcolm Chisholm: We do not hold information on the hours worked by doctors in training. However, the following table provides details of each NHS board’s assessment of the number of junior doctors in training who are non-compliant with the requirements of the Working Time Regulations (WTR), as at 1 August 2004. Some of the non-compliant doctors will be working less than 58 hours but are not compliant with rest requirements. I hope you find this information useful.

  Analysis by NHS Board

  

 
Board
Number of Doctors in Training3


WTR Non-Compliant at
16-06-045
Expected to be WTR Non-Compliant at
01-08-044,5
Total


Argyll and Clyde
74
15
235


Ayrshire and Arran
144
58
224


Borders
20
19
68


Dumfries and Galloway
19
0
73


Fife
82
16
168


Forth Valley
60
17
177


Grampian
230
39
516.2


Greater Glasgow
305
243
1,277.3


Highland
45
45
138


Lanarkshire
235
0
300.5


Lothian
371.6
137
828.1


Tayside
213
61
500


Orkney
5
0
5


Shetland1
5
5
5


Western Isles2
-
-
-


CSA
0
0
8


Scotland
2714.5
655
4,523.1


Percentages
60.0%
14.5%
100.0%



  Notes:

  1. Shetland have reported that they will have a 100% WTR compliant rota in place by 4 August 2004.

  2. There has been no return received from Western Isles.

  3. These figures do not include GP Registrars.

  4. Figures are board predictions for the number of doctors in training expected to be WTR non-compliant at 1August 2004.

  5. Compliance with the European Working Time Regulations includes working no longer than 58 hours per week, taking a minimum 11 hours rest in a 24 hour period, and receiving four weeks' paid annual leave.

National Health Service

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it issues to all departments in the NHS with regard to skill and training requirements for non-UK nationals practising medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, midwifery or nursing prior to their employment.

Malcolm Chisholm: No guidance is issued to NHSScotland about the skill and training requirements for non-UK nationals. All doctors, including non-UK nationals who wish to practice in the United Kingdom, must be registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) before they are allowed to apply for any posts within the UK. Doctors wishing to work in the general medical service as general practitioners within the UK, other than a trainee practitioner, require to hold certificates of prescribed or equivalent experience as required by the Joint Committee on Post Graduate Training for General Practice (JCPTGP). The functions of the JCPTGP will be undertaken by the new UK competent authority, the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board, once it becomes fully operational later this year.

  All dentists, including non-UK nationals, who wish to practice in the United Kingdom, have to be registered with the General Dental Council (GDC).

  The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) has in place a system for the registration of European Union (EU) and other overseas pharmacists.

  The position is similar for all non-UK nurses and midwives who want to practice in the UK. All non-UK nurses and midwives have to gain entry to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Register before they are allowed to apply for posts within the UK.

  The Executive directs all NHS employers to the above requirements when looking to recruit new staff and ensure that they are registered with the appropriate regulatory body. This also ensures that any new staff that they intend to employ in Scotland have the required skills, competences and linguistic abilities necessary to carry out their "duties of care" for the post or job that they are applying for.

National Health Service

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that minimum EU training standards are high enough for the standards of the NHS, with particular reference to compatibility issues in respect of training and accreditations standards in the new accession countries.

Malcolm Chisholm: The General Medical Council (GMC) along with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and the Health Professional Council (HPC) are responsible for maintaining the minimum educational or training standards for staff wanting to undertake employment within the NHS. Therefore, it is for the professional bodies to determine the standard of expertise that any potential member of staff needs to have achieved or maintain when hoping to work in the health service prior to receiving their registration with the organisation.

  For example, the GMC is the regulatory body responsible for the undergraduate medical education in the UK and their responsibilities include:

  Deciding the knowledge, skills and attitudes medical graduates need;

  Making sure that the teaching and learning opportunities provided allow students to meet GMC requirements;

  Setting the standards of expertise that students need to achieve at qualifying examinations or assessments, and

  Making sure that the standards of expertise the GMC have set is maintained by the medical schools at qualifying examinations.

Pharmacies

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is on the dispensing of NHS prescriptions by internet pharmacies.

Malcolm Chisholm: To dispense prescriptions on the NHS, an internet pharmacy will have to have physical registered premises which can be inspected so that they conform to professional and legal standards.

Pharmacies

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many grants have been awarded for postgraduate pre-registration pharmacy training, broken down by NHS board.

Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not available centrally. From 2000-01, funding in respect of the allowance for pre-registration pharmacy trainees was transferred into NHS boards’ unified budget.

Road Accidents

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many road traffic accidents there were at the A90/A952 Toll of Birness junction in each of the last six years.

Nicol Stephen: The number of road traffic accidents that have occurred at the A90/A952 Toll of Birness junction in each of the last six years (from January 1998 to December 2003) is in the following table:

  

Year
Fatal
Serious
Slight
Total


1998
0
0
0
0


1999
0
0
1
1


2000
0
0
0
0


2001
0
2
1
3


2002
0
0
0
0


2003
0
2
1
3

Roads

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on the survey of the Haudagain roundabout in Aberdeen.

Nicol Stephen: Work to develop a traffic model for the area around the A90-A96 Haudagain roundabout is on schedule for completion around the end of October. The model will then be used to assess various options for improvement. This study is being joint-funded by the Scottish Executive and NESTRANS.

Roads

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on the study into improving the Hilton Drive, Manor Avenue and North Anderson Drive junction in Aberdeen.

Nicol Stephen: The Executive has finalised the study into options to improve the Hilton Road - Manor Avenue junction with North Anderson Drive in Aberdeen and the recommended option will be presented to Aberdeen City Council and Grampian Police within the next four weeks for their consideration and agreement.

  I have asked my officials to contact you to discuss the proposals.